Kevin Larkins

Kevin Larkins was born in Beatrice and developed a love for dirt track racing as a youngster while attending races at Beatrice Speedway with his parents. 

     After assisting local racer and life-long friend Johnny Saathoff as a young teenager, Larkins began his driving career as an 18-year old in 1982.  He wheeled a Sportsman race car for three seasons but turned his attention to International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) Modifieds in 1985 and eventually became one of the most successful Modified pilots in the Midwest.  In 1986 and 1987, He scored his first two track championships, both at Midwest Speedway in Lincoln, and captured the track championship at Eagle Raceway in 1993.

     In 1994, Larkins had one of his most successful seasons behind the wheel of an IMCA Modified, scoring 24 victories and grabbing 52 top-five finishes in 60 starts.  He won track titles at US 30 Speedway in Columbus, I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, and Beatrice Speedway that season, and captured the IMCA North Central Region Championship while finishing a close second in the IMCA National point standings.

      Over the years, Larkins finished in the top-five in the final IMCA Modified national standings on numerous occasions and was invited to participate in the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the IMCA Modified in Vinton, Iowa in 1999, as one of the ten winningest drivers in IMCA modified history. 
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     In 2000, Larkins traveled with the American Speed Association (ASA) asphalt Late Model Tour.  At the time, the series attracted some of the top up-and-coming drivers from around the nation including Johnny Sauter, Scott Wimmer and Larry Foyt.  His tenure with the series lasted only ten races with his best finish being at Chicago Motor Speedway where he finished 26th.

     Returning to the dirt in 2001, Larkins teamed up with Johnny Saathoff to form what was described as the “Dream Team,” racing together at big money special events throughout the Midwest.  On numerous occasions, the team of Larkins and Saathoff scored first and second place finishes against some of the top Modified drivers in the nation.

     During his driving career, Larkins won 19 track championships, including five at Eagle Raceway, four at US 30 Speedway, and three at I-80 Speedway.  He has raced at over 100 race tracks in 20 states, capturing over 250 feature race victories along the way.  Larkins qualified for the IMCA Super Nationals main six times, and won special events all over the region.  His special event victories include the Mid Southern Modified Tour event in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1994, the Tiny Lund Memorial at Harlan, Iowa in 1998, the Abe Lincoln Memorial in Columbus, also in 1998, and the Nebraska State Fair Championship in 2001.
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     Larkins has sat in the cockpit of a variety of types of race cars including sportsmen, both dirt and asphalt late models, modifieds, and even sprint cars.

     As successful of a driver as Larkins was, he is equally seen as a successful car builder.  He began working for Sardeson Racing in Greenwood as an 18 year old teenager in 1982 and later, with his brother Kurt, opened his own car building business, Larkins Racing, in the early 1990s.  Larkins Racing designed and built around 40 IMCA-type modifieds a year for championship drivers including Johnny “The Jet” Saathoff of Beatrice, Wyoming’s Justen Jeager, and Kansas hot shoes David Murray, Greg Metz, and Alan Dix, as well as numerous successful local racers.  They were also a dealer for Larry Shaw Late Models.

     In 1995, Larkins turned the reigns of Larkins Racing over to his brother and went to work for “Speedy” Bill Smith at Speedway Motors in Lincoln.  Today, he manages four divisions for Speedway Motors including the Shock Rebuild and Service Department, the Quality Control Department, and a new Custom Engine shop.

     Larkins is an avid fisherman and participated with the FLW Professional Fishing Walleye Tour in 2007.